fuel tank swap / engine drop

[St.Bus]

the weekend of sept 13th i will be helping a friend of mine whos an FMBC member drop his engine from a 79 westie so we can replace the fuel tank.
We'll be doing this outdoors in Leominster Ma. on dirt , this will be my second removal and replacement so i got somewhat of a clue.
but i have never swapped a tank. any helpful hints Heloise?
do we need a new fuel filler boot?
yeah were gonna go thru all the fuel lines and paint the tins and stuff while its out..
Can we check the clutch plate to get an idea of whats left to it?
and how?
Joe

[MrLiMBO]

Its been a long time since I had to deal with a Bay Window fuel tank. But I remember you have to pull the engine.  

I would get a new fuel filler neck.  I think Bus Depot has them.  My friends 78 is leaking.  He's been waiting for a week or so for it to arrive.  Then we'll be tackling that job too.

I would check out the clutch while you had the engine out.  I new disc has about 9MM worth of material on it.  Its recommended that anything under 6MM should be replaced.  (you can use a open end wrench to check the thickness. )  3MM doesn't seem like much, but it can make a difference.

Good luck and don't  forget to use your clutch alignment tool when putting the clutch back together. Make life much easier when installing the engine.